Tray for strawberries and the like

ABSTRACT

A tray is provided of two tray sections. The bottom portion comprises a rectangular bottom panel, side and end walls extending upwardly therefrom, and corner flaps hinged to the end walls and secured in face contact with the side walls. The other portion telescopes over the bottom portion and includes a top portion and side and end walls, the end walls being provided with corner flaps secured in face contact with the side walls. The trays are impregnated with a wax containing coating and are very rigid. The top of the top portion is cut to provide end wall liner panels, and the corner flaps extend the full height of the side walls to reinforce the corners.

United States Patent Swanson TRAY FOR STRAWBERRIES AND THE LIKEInventor: Elmer G. Swanson, Salinas, Calif.

Hoerner Waldorf Corporation, St. Paul, Minn.

Filed: Sept. 12, 1974 Appl. No.: 505,228

Assignee:

US. Cl. 229/34 R; 229/23 BT Int. Cl. B65D 5/22; 229 23 BT;34 R; 34 HW;32

Field of Search 229/23 HT, 34 R, 34 HW, 229/32 References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Farquhar 229/34 HW X Primary ExaminerDavis T. MoorheadAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Jerry F. Best 57 ABSTRACT A tray is provided oftwo tray sections. The bottom portion comprises a rectangular bottompanel, side and end walls extending upwardly therefrom, and corner flapshinged to the end walls and secured in face contact with the side walls.The other portion telescopes over the bottom portion and includes a topportion and side and end walls, the end walls being provided with cornerflaps secured in face contact with the side walls. The trays areimpregnated with a wax containing coating and are very rigid. The top ofthe top portion is cut to provide end wall liner panels, and the cornerflaps extend the full height of the side walls to reinforce the corners.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 30, 1975 shefit 1 of23,929,273

TRAY FOR STRAWBERRIES AND THE LIKE This invention relates to animprovement in trays of the type used in containing smaller open-toptrays of strawberries and other fruits and vegetables.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Open top trays have been produced forcontaining various types of fruits and vegetables, and also which can beused for other materials if so desired. These trays are usually providedwith stacking means so that one tray may be stacked upon the otherwithout slipping any great amount laterally or endwise. It is thisgeneral type of tray which the applicant has provided, but the structureis such that it may be more readily made.

One such structure is shown in Reissue U.S. Pat. No. 26,386 issued May7, 1968 to W. B. Crane for a shipping container. In this construction, atwo part container is provided in which both of the sections forming thecontainer include corner flaps hingedly secured to the side walls of thetwo sections, and which are folded into connection with the containerend walls. As a result, there are five thicknesses of corrugatedpaperboard extending along the side portions of the end walls to providestrength for the corner. However, this leaves only two walls extendingalong the ends of the side walls to support the corners so that theweight of the stack of containers is supported only by these two wallsin the event the stack becomes slightly offset in a longitudinaldirection.

In the formation of the containers shown in the patent, one side wall ofthe flat blank forming the bottom portion of the container is overlappedwith a side wall of the flat blank forming the top portion of thecontainer and is adhered in face contact therewith. The blank formingthe top portion is folded to overlie the blank forming the containerbottom while the other side wall of the bottom forming blank is foldedthrough one hundred eighty degrees and the second two side walls aresecured together. This forms a tubular container with open ends whichmay be closed in much the manner of a conventional container by firstfolding the side wall corner flaps inwardly, and then folding the bottomand top end wall closure flaps inwardly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present device, the tray is quitesimilar to that shown in the above mentioned patent, but the cornerflaps are hingedly connected to the end walls of the two sections ratherthan to the side walls thereof. As a result, the corners of thecontainer are supported by four thicknesses of paperboard extendingalong the ends of the side walls, and three thicknesses of corrugatedpaperboard extending along the ends of the corners. The trays thusformed are accordingly extremely strong, and the strength is increasedby impregnating the corrugated board by passing the blanks or the sheetsforming the blanks through a cascade of molten coating material whichmay be wax, plastic, or a combination thereof. The trays thus formed areextremely strong and weather resistant.

A feature of the present invention lies in the manner in which thecontainers are formed. In place of combining the two portions of theblank in the manner shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings of the abovementioned patent the blanks are separately formed into trays on a trayforming machine which is readily available on the 2 market. This formingmachine accepts the flat blanks, folds the side and end walls up intoright angular relation to the base panel, folds the corner flaps on theend walls inwardly of the side walls, and adheres the corner flaps inplace, thus forming two rigid trays. These trays are telescoped togetherwith the upper tray inverted relative to the bottom tray, so that atelescoped container structure is produced.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention willbe more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification andclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thecompleted container.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, the position of the sectionbeing indicated by the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through an end of the side wall,the position of the section being shown by the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a corner of the twosections before they are telescoped together.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the bottom sectionof the container is formed.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the blank from which the upper portionof the container is formed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The container, which isindicated in general by the letter A, is formed of thw two blanksillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings. The blank 10, illustratedin FIG. 5 includes a bottom wall 11 which is hingedly connected alongparallel side edges by hinge lines 12 to side walls 13. The rectangularbottom wall 11 is also connected along fold lines 14 to end walls 15.The bottom wall 11 is rectangular so that the fold lines 12 and 14 arein right angular relation.

Corner flaps 16 are hingedly connected to the sides of the end walls 15along fold lines 17, the fold lines 17 being slightly inset from thefold lines 12 to allow for the thickness of the corner flaps 16. Each ofthe side walls 13 is provided with a pair of spaced generally U-shapednotches, the notches 19 being on opposite sides of the center portions20 of the side walls which are the full height of the end portions 21 ofthe side walls. The ends or upper corners of the corner flap 16 arenotched as indicated at 22 to fit the contour of the notches 19, theportions of the corner flaps 16 adjoining the fold lines 15 being thefull height of the side and end walls as indicated at 23.

Pairs of apertures 24 extend in widely spaced relation along each foldline 14, the apertures 24 being in the bottom wall 11 near the foldlines 12 connecting the bottom wall to the side walls 13. Centralapertures 25 are provided in the bottom wall 11 adjoining the fold lines14 and midway between the fold lines 12 and are designed to accommodatestacking lugs of the type which will be described. Midway between theapertures 24 are rectangular apertures 26 which are also spaced from thefold lines 12. Ventilation apertures 27 may be provided in the bottomwall 11 if it is so desired. The notches 19 are provided so that asimilar container stacked upon a lower container may be readily graspedand removed from the stack.

The top section of the container is indicated in general by the numeral30, it includes a top portion 31 which is mainly cut away to formvertically extending panels. The top panel 31 is hingedly connectedalong a pair of fold lines 32 to end panels 33 and along right angularfold lines 34 to side panels 35. Corner flaps or panels 36 are foldablyconnected to the sides of the end walls 32 along fold lines 37 which arepreferably slightly inset from the fold lines 34 to allow for thethickness of the paperboard in folding.

Each side wall 35 is provided with a pair of spaced notches 39 which arearranged on either side of center. These notches correspond in shape tothe notches 19 in the blank as indicated in FIG. 1 of the drawings. Thetop panel includes a flange 40 connected to each end wall 33, the inneredge of the flange 40 being connected along a fold line 41 to an endwall liner panel 42. The end wall liner panels are similar in height tothe end walls 33 and include downwardly projecting tabs 43 designed toengage in the apertures 24 of the bottom wall 11 when the two blanks areassembled. Each flange 40 is interrupted by U-shaped cut line 44 whichterminates in the end wall liner panels 42. These cut lines 44 form tabs45 which extend upwardly above the remainder of the flange 40 asindicated in FIG. 1 so as to extend into an aperture of the bottom wall11 of a similar container stacked upon the first. The top of thecontainer also includes a transverse connecting strip 46 connecting theopposite side walls. The connecting strip 46 is connected along parallelfold lines 47 to supporting panels 49 which are of a width substantiallyequal to the height of the side and end walls and 33. The supportingpanels 49 are provided with projecting tabs 50 which are designed toengage in the apertures 26 in the bottom wall 11 when the two parts ofthe container are connected together.

In forming the container A, the blanks 10 and 30 in flat form arestacked in a forming machine which acts to apply glue either to thecorner flaps or panels such as 16 and 36 or to the side walls 13 or 35,and form the blank into a tray in which the side and end walls extend upvertically from the base panel such as the bottom wall 1 1 or the toppanel 31. Thus two trays are formed, and the proportions are such thatthe top tray formed by the blank 30 can telescope down over the bottomtray illustrated in general by the numeral 10.

The manner in which the two trays may telescope together isdiagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 4 of the drawings. As indicated,the ends of the top flanges are preferably of generally triangular formas illustrated at 51 so as to provide a greater length of hingeconnection between the top and the side walls 35. Once the two trayshave been telescoped together, the end wall liner panels 42 are foldeddownwardly, the tongues or lugs 43 engaging in the apertures 24 in thebottom wall 11. The supporting walls 49 are also folded downwardly alongthe fold lines 47, the tongues 50 on the lower edges of the supportingwalls 49 engaging in the apertures 26 in the bottom wall.

The two telescoping sections may frictionally engage, as they arenormally lifted by engagement with the lower section. However,preferably some means are provided for locking the two sections. Thismeans may comprise locking tabs, or may comprise adhesive appliedbetween the inner surface of the corner panels 36 and the outer surfaceof the walls 13. This adhesive may be applied just before the twosections are telescoped together.

In accordance with the Patent Statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and operation of my improvement in TRAY FOR STRAWBERRIESAND THE LIKE; and while I have endeavored to set forth the bestembodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changesmay be made within the scope of the following claims without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

l. A tray-like shipping container formed from a pair of separate blanksof corrugated paperboard, said container including: I

a first tray including a rectangular bottom wall, side and end wallshingedly connected to the sides and ends of said bottom panel,

corner flaps connected to the sides of said end walls and adhesivelysecured in face contact with the inner surfaces of said side walls,

a second tray including a top flange at each end thereof, side and endpanels hingedly connected to said top flanges and extending downwardlytherefrom,

corner panels hingedly connected to opposite ends of said end panels andadhesively secured to the inner surfaces of said second tray sidepanels,

said first and second trays being telescoped together with the sidewalls of said first tray engaging the inner surfaces of said cornerpanels of said second tray,

end wall liner panels hingedly connected to said flanges and extendingdownwardly therefrom in spaced relation to said end panels and engagingsaid bottom wall,

tongues projecting downwardly from said liner panels and engaging inapertures in said bottom wall to form a hollow end wall, and

said structure resulting in side wall portions underlying said flangeswhich are of four thicknesses of paperboard, and three thickness hollowend walls.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which:

said second tray includes a top connecting strap connecting the centerportions of said side walls,

supporting panels connected to opposite edges of said connecting strapand extending downwardly therefrom into engagement with said bottom wallof said first tray, and

tab means interconnecting said supporting panels and said bottom wallextending through apertures in said bottom wall and terminatingsubstantially flush with the lower surface of said bottom wall.

1. A tray-like shipping container formed from a pair of separate blanksof corrugated paperboard, said container including: a first trayincluding a rectangular bottom wall, side and end walls hingedlyconnected to the sides and ends of said bottom panel, corner flapsconnected to the sides of saId end walls and adhesively secured in facecontact with the inner surfaces of said side walls, a second trayincluding a top flange at each end thereof, side and end panels hingedlyconnected to said top flanges and extending downwardly therefrom, cornerpanels hingedly connected to opposite ends of said end panels andadhesively secured to the inner surfaces of said second tray sidepanels, said first and second trays being telescoped together with theside walls of said first tray engaging the inner surfaces of said cornerpanels of said second tray, end wall liner panels hingedly connected tosaid flanges and extending downwardly therefrom in spaced relation tosaid end panels and engaging said bottom wall, tongues projectingdownwardly from said liner panels and engaging in apertures in saidbottom wall to form a hollow end wall, and said structure resulting inside wall portions underlying said flanges which are of four thicknessesof paperboard, and three thickness hollow end walls.
 2. The structure ofclaim 1 and in which: said second tray includes a top connecting strapconnecting the center portions of said side walls, supporting panelsconnected to opposite edges of said connecting strap and extendingdownwardly therefrom into engagement with said bottom wall of said firsttray, and tab means interconnecting said supporting panels and saidbottom wall extending through apertures in said bottom wall andterminating substantially flush with the lower surface of said bottomwall.